News & Analysis as of

Delaware General Corporation Law Shareholder Litigation Fiduciary Duty

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Erects a “Formidable Obstacle” to Proving Counterparty Aiding and Abetting Liability in Merger Transactions

The In re Columbia Pipeline Group Merger Litigation decision clarifies that a buyer may not be found liable for aiding and abetting a seller-side breach of fiduciary duty unless the buyer had actual knowledge—not merely...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Don’t Call It a Comeback: A Decade Later, the Corwin Doctrine Still Packs a Knockout Punch

The Delaware Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC1 reshaped the landscape of merger and acquisition litigation by establishing a powerful defense for Delaware companies. Under the Corwin...more

Nossaman LLP

Delaware, Nevada or Texas – Which State’s Corporation Statute Will Reign Supreme?

Nossaman LLP on

To stem the recent tide of high-profile corporate “DExit” moves, Delaware has enacted Substitute 1 to Senate Bill 21 (SB 21) to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) effective March 25, 2025. To lure more...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Sets High Bar for Counterparty Aiding and Abetting Liability in M&A Deals

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

The Delaware Supreme Court’s June 17, 2025 decision in In re Columbia Pipeline Group Merger Litigation reversed a $199 million damages award against TC Energy for aiding and abetting breaches by fiduciaries of Columbia...more

Cole Schotz

Plaintiffs Raise Constitutional Challenges to March 2025 Milestone Amendments to the DGCL; Delaware Governor Matt Meyer Files...

Cole Schotz on

As noted in our prior blog post, on March 25, 2025, significant amendments to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the DGCL), were adopted by the Delaware General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Matt...more

Cooley LLP

Reincorporation Considerations for Late-Stage Private and Pre-IPO Companies

Cooley LLP on

Introduction - Companies thinking about, preparing for or going through the initial public offering (IPO) process have many things to do and many decisions to make (to put it mildly!). A relatively recent addition to this...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms Protection of Arm’s-Length Bargaining

On June 17, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a post-trial finding of aiding and abetting liability against a third-party arm’s-length buyer. In doing so, the court built upon another recent decision and reaffirmed...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Supreme Court to Consider Constitutionality of SB 21

Fenwick & West LLP on

The Delaware Supreme Court has agreed to accept questions certified to the court relating to the constitutionality of Senate Bill 21 (SB 21), which was signed into law back in March 2025. ...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Claims Subject to Entire Fairness

On May 9, 2025, in Roofers Local 149 Pension Fund v. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. et al., the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a pre-trial motion to dismiss, even though the claims alleged a conflicted controller...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Recent Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

Seward & Kissel LLP on

Delaware has recently enacted two sets of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”). One from 2024 is Senate Bill 313, which made explicit the right of a corporation to grant governance rights to a...more

Mayer Brown

Navigating Recent Amendments To The Delaware General Corporation Law: Governing Conflicted Transactions

Mayer Brown on

In this episode, Mayer Brown partners Andrew Noreuil and Brian Massengill discuss this year’s amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, which have fundamentally altered the landscape for conflicted transactions. Our...more

Morris James LLP

Supreme Court Affirms Chancery Rulings in Derivative Litigation Challenging Oracle’s NetSuite Acquisition

Morris James LLP on

In re Oracle Corp. Deriv. Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0337 (Del. Jan. 21, 2025) - The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision in favor of the defendants in a derivative suit challenging Oracle’s acquisition of...more

Cooley LLP

In Rare Dismissal of Up-C Reorganization Case, Chancery Court Holds That Claim Is Derivative, Not Direct 

Cooley LLP on

On April 10, 2025, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss in a breach of fiduciary duty action arising from BGC’s conversion from an Up-C corporation to a traditional full C corporation. While multiple...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

What Litigators Should Know About Texas Corporate Governance Reforms Under SB 29

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

On May 14, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 29 (“SB 29”), which significantly reforms the Texas Business Organizations Code (“TBOC”). With these reforms, Texas aims to create a legal environment...more

Allen Matkins

Judge Rules Shareholders Can Pursue Derivative Claim Following A "Conversion"

Allen Matkins on

A year ago, I posited the question whether a derivative suit can survive a conversion. I raised that question in reference to Palkon v. Maffei, 2024 WL 678204 (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024), in which the plaintiffs unsuccessfully...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Texas Legislature Approves Significant Changes to Its Corporate Law, Incentivizing Relocation to Texas and Listing on Texas-based...

Fenwick & West LLP on

Delaware has long been the jurisdiction of choice for corporations, but certain recent controversial judicial decisions have resulted in a number of high-profile companies reincorporating (or considering reincorporation) into...more

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

Significant DGCL Amendments Expand Protections for Corporate Insiders

Amendments to Section 144 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) broaden safe harbor protections for interested director and officer transactions and extend such protections to controlling stockholder transactions....more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Amends General Corporation Law to Stanch Company Exodus

Fenwick & West LLP on

On March 25, Delaware adopted significant amendments to §§ 144 and 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law which aim to provide greater clarity and predictability to corporate fiduciaries in light of certain recent...more

DLA Piper

Amendments to Delaware General Corporation Law Expand Safe Harbor for Controlling Stockholder Transactions and Circumscribe Books...

DLA Piper on

The Governor of Delaware has signed into law Senate Bill 21 (SB 21), which amends certain sections of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) governing controlling stockholder transactions under DGCL Section 144 and...more

ArentFox Schiff

Delaware’s New Approach To Interested Director and Minority Stockholder Protections

ArentFox Schiff on

On March 25, Delaware governor, Matt Meyer, signed into law Substitute 1 to Senate Bill 21 (SB 21), following its rapid approval by the Delaware state legislature. This legislative measure aims to counter the current trend of...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Executive Compensation Action For Failure To Plead Demand Futility

Morris James LLP on

Eckert v. Hightower, C.A. No. 2024-0569-MTZ (Del. Ch. Mar. 24, 2025) - A board of directors approved compensation packages for the company’s CEO, who also was its controlling stockholder. The CEO was a member of the...more

Baker Donelson

Delaware Revises Corporate Law to Strengthen Deals and Limit Stockholder Rights

Baker Donelson on

Delaware lawmakers recently enacted Senate Bill 21, a sweeping reform that significantly amends several sections of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL). The law introduces significant revisions aimed at increasing...more

Hogan Lovells

No breach of fiduciary duty where directors approved merger that stripped common stock of its value

Hogan Lovells on

In Jacobs v. Akademos, the Delaware Chancery Court ruled that a cash-out merger that provided common shareholders in a privately held corporation, Akademos, Inc., with no value was nonetheless entirely fair. This decision...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Sec Lit IQ: MoFo’s Quarterly Federal Securities Litigation and Delaware Corporate Litigation Newsletter (Q1 2025)

In our second edition of MoFo’s quarterly federal securities and Delaware corporate litigation newsletter, we provide a rundown of select developments from the first quarter of 2025. The Ninth Circuit Confirms That...more

Venable LLP

Chancery Court Dismisses Equitable Challenge to Advance Notice Bylaws as Unripe

Venable LLP on

Invoking the recent Delaware Supreme Court decision Kellner v. AIM ImmunoTech Inc., 320 A.3d 239 (Del. 2024) (“Kellner”), the Court of Chancery held that equitable challenges to the enforceability of advance notice bylaws are...more

140 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 6

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide